London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Pancras 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
41
The number of deaths from diphtheria certified during the year was 33, equal to
a death-rate of 0.14 per 1,000 civil population and a case mortality of 4.8 per cent, of
cases notified.
In the following Table are set out the corresponding figures for the past 10 vears
| Year. | No. of Notifications. | Notification rate per 1,000 population. | No. of Deaths. | Death rate per 1,000 population. | Case mortality per cent. | Percentage of cases remored to hospital. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 419 | 1.8 | 37 | 0.15 | 8.8 | 94 |
| 1912 | 550 | 2.5 | 26 | 0.11 | 4.7 | 98 |
| 1913 | *391 | *1.8 | 19 | 0.08 | *4.9 | 97 |
| 1914 | 426 | 1.9 | 30 | 0.14 | 7.0 | 87 |
| 1915 | 311 | 1.7 | 24 | 0.11 | 6.3 | 95 |
| 1916 | 383 | 1.9 | 23 | 0.12 | 6.0 | 95 |
| 1917 | 381 | 2.0 | 25 | 0.13 | 5.5 | 99 |
| 1918 | 340 | 1.9 | 31 | 0.17 | 9.1 | 93 |
| 1919 | 283 | 1.3 | 21 | 0.09 | 7.4 | 97 |
| 1920 | 680 | 2.9 | 33 | 0.14 | 4.8 | 97 |
*From 1913 onwards the figures have been corrected for errors in diagnosis.
The prevalence of diphtheria was greater in 1920 than in recent years. The case
mortality however, was comparatively low.
Of the notified cases of diphtheria, 723 (or 96.8 per cent.) were removed to hospital,
as follows:—
To Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals 720
To other hospitals 3
Other statistical facts will be found on pages 28 to 30.
Return Cases.—(Definition:—A case of diphtheria occurring within 28 days of the
return from hospital to the same house of a previous case of diphtheria.) There was 9 such
cases in 1920, occurring in 9 houses. In 7 instances the cases were in the same family, and
in 2 instances in different families in the same house. The condition of the (?) infecting
cases was as follows:—(1) suffering from measles; (2) nasal discharge, giving negative swab,
but positive swab ffom throat; (3) sore throat; (4) sores on the face; (5) nasal discharge
(negative swabs from nose and throat); (6) no signs of infectiousness; (7) no signs of infectiousness,
but positive swab from nose and negative from throat; (8) nasal discharge
(negative swabs from nose and throat); (9) nasal discharge (negative swab from nose).
In a number of cases there was chronic enlargement of the tonsils. The intervals
between the return of the (?) infecting case and the onset of the illness of the return case
were respectively 1, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 19, and 24 days. In addition there was one case of
diphtheria occurring 33 days after the return in the same family of a previous case of
diphtheria, which showed no signs of infectiousness and gave a negative swab from the
throat.
In three instances, cases of diphtheria occurred a few days after the return from
hospital to the same family of a previous case of scarlet fever, the intervals being 7, 9 and 14